Plan My Land Operation — 4/16/2018 8:06 AM Page 1

Plan My Land Operation Case Study Exercise

The Plan My Land Operation application allows users to quickly map a project site, identify sensitive

areas, determine operational characteristics of mapped soils, calculate area and distances, and receive

BMP recommendations based on the hydrology, soils, and topography of the mapped area.

This exercise was designed to help users become familiar with the Plan My Land Operation application.

To begin, follow the steps below:

1. Download the project file FairchildSF.zip from the Plan My Land Operation Help website

(http://tfsfrd.tamu.edu/planmylandoperation/Help.html) and save to your computer in the

Downloads folder or another folder that you choose.

2. Open the application by browsing to the website http://texasforestinfo.com. Close the

Disclaimer window and click on Plan My Land Operation.

3. Load the project file by first clicking Define Boundaries in the left column. Then select the shp

radio button and select the Load button. Select the FairchildSF file from the Downloads folder

(or the folder you chose) and click Open.

Note: Shape files must be loaded as compressed zip (.zip) files. The application also enables users to draw their own

project boundaries and save their project in order to work on it later.

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The application automatically zooms to the location, outlines the boundary, and calculates the area

(acres). Various base maps can be viewed using the toggle button at the top (Hybrid, Street, Topo,

Hydro, Aerial). Historic aerial photographs can be selected from the drop down box if “Aerial” is toggled.

Now that the project area (boundary) has been defined, work through the following exercises and

answer the questions.

Exercise 1: Identifying sensitive areas (streams, SMZs, severe slopes,

wet areas) on a project area using the application.

1. Click the Sensitive Areas tab in the left Column. The application automatically maps streams,

stream buffers, severe slopes, and wet areas using different colors when a project area has

been defined.

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2. Click on Report in the Sensitive Areas tab, type a Project Name in the Submit Project

window, and click OK. The application opens the “Sensitive Area Report” as a pdf file in a new

window. First time users may need to turn off the Pop-Up Blocker.

A one page report is produced showing a sensitive area map and summary statistics (length,

area) of critical areas. Use the information in the Sensitive Area Report to answer the following

question.

Question 1: What is the area (acres) in Stream Buffers (SMZs)? Acres

Custom values can be entered for stream buffers, severe slopes, and wet areas by clicking the +

sign in the left column.

3. Click the + sign next to Severe Slopes (> 8%), type in 12% in the text box, and click Set. The

map automatically re-calculates sensitive areas. Click Report, type a new Project Name in

the Submit Project window, and click OK.

Question 2: What is the area (acres) represented by Severe Slopes (>12%)? Acres

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Exercise 2: Viewing soil types and associated properties on a project

area.

1. Clear the sensitive areas layer by clicking Clear Layer in the Sensitive Areas tab, and then

click on the Soils tab.

2. Check the Visible and Identify boxes, and then click the Clip button. This will display a color

coded map of the soils within the project area boundary.

Note: Soils data is from NRCS SSURGO 2014.

An interactive summary table of the project area soils displays the soil series name, area and

percent of the tract covered by that soil type. The Layer Transparency slide bar allows you to

make the soils layer transparent.

3. Click directly on the Soil Name to bring up a text box with more detailed soil properties.

Question 3: How many acres are in Lilbert loamy fine sand, sloping soil series? Acres

Question 4: What percent of the tract is Betis loamy fine sand, sloping? %

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4. Click on Report in the Soils tab in the left column, type a Project Name in the Submit Project

window, and click OK.

The application opens the Project Area and Soils Report as a pdf file in a new window. A multi-

page report is produced of soils maps, summary information, and BMP recommendations for

each soil type.

Use the Project Area and Soils Report to answer the following questions:

Question 5: What is the total length (in feet) of perennial streams on this tract? __________ft.

Question 6: What drainage class is the Elrose fine sandy loam, 3 to 8 percent (Mb)? __________

Question 7: What is the Rating for Harvest Equipment Operability on the Tenaha loamy fine

sand, strongly sloping (Rf) soil? ___________

Question 8: What is the BMP Awareness for Soil Rutting Hazard on the Darco loamy fine sand,

sloping (Lb) soil? ____________

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Exercise 3: Viewing general soil properties (erosion and rutting hazard)

to support operation planning and layout on a project area.

1. Click on the Operational Considerations tab. The project area is automatically color coded

based on the assigned ratings of key soil characteristics (i.e. Drainage Class, Suitability for Roads

and Landings, Erosion Hazard, etc.).

2. Select different radio buttons to see how the map colors change.

3. Click on Report in the Operational Considerations tab, type a Project Name in the Submit

Project window and click OK. The application opens the Operational Considerations Report for

the property selected (i.e. Soil Rutting Hazard) as a pdf file in a new window.

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The Operational Considerations Report is produced showing a color coded map and area

statistics of the operational consideration selected.

Use the Operational Considerations Report to answer the following question:

Question 9: How many acres have a “Moderate” rating for Soil Rutting Hazard? ________acres

Exercise 4: Determining the appropriate size of a culvert for a stream

crossing.

1. Clear the Operational Considerations layer, by selecting the Clear layer button, and zoom in to

the southwestern corner of the tract. You may want to toggle the “Topo” basemap.

2. Click on the Culvert Size & Elevation Profile tab.

3. Click the Culvert Size button, and then the Blue Dot button. This will allow you to place a point

on the map to calculate the culvert size for a stream crossing. Place the point at the bottom of

the stream in that section. The watershed is automatically delineated for the placed point.

4. Type a Project Name in the Watershed Properties window and click Report.

The Watershed Size/Culvert Size Report is generated and shows the recommended culvert size.

Use the Watershed Size/Culvert Size Report to answer the following question:

Question 10: What size culvert is recommended for this stream crossing? ________

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Exercise 5: Determining topographical properties of a road segment to

adequately plan erosion control measures (BMPs).

1. Zoom in closer to the Blue Dot.

2. Click on the Elev. Profile button, and then the Draw Polyline button. This will allow you to

visualize the elevation profile of a potential road segment so you can adequately plan for BMPs

and erosion control.

3. Click on the road segment NW of the blue dot to add a vertex and proceed by dragging the line

along the road, adding vertices when you need to change directions. Double click to end the

road segment. Type a Project Name in the Elevation Profile window and click Report.

The elevation profile is automatically calculated for the delineated road segment. The

interactive graph shows the altitude, distance from start, and percent slope along points in the

profile. The Elevation Profile Report is generated and summarizes results of the analysis. This

information can be used as inputs for the waterbar and wing ditch spacing charts in the Texas

Forestry BMP Handbook or mobile application.

Use the Elevation Profile Report to answer the following question:

Question 11: What is the maximum percent slope for this road segment? ________

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Exercise 6: Measuring area and distances in the application.

1. Click “Clear layer” to remove the elevation profile.

2. Zoom out so you can see the southwestern corner of the tract (yellow rectangular box).

3. Click the Measure tab and then click the Area button. Hold down Ctrl on the keyboard and click

near the corner of the yellow boundary. This will “snap” directly to the yellow boundary.

4. Continue pressing Ctrl while dragging the line around the rectangular box, clicking at each

corner. Double click at the end to close the polygon.

Note: A circle with a + sign inside indicates you are “snapping” to an existing boundary.

The measure tool quickly calculates area (acres) of delineated polygons or circles and distance

(feet) of line segments.

Use the measure tool to answer the following questions:

Question 12: How many acres are in the rectangular box? ________acres

Question 13: What is the distance of the eastern border of the rectangular box? ________feet

Hint: You may need to select a different option in the measure tool to answer Question 13.

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Exercise 7: Saving the map to a pdf file.

1. Click Clear to remove the area calculation.

2. Click Export Map to PDF, enter a name in the Title box, and click the Preview button. The map

features shown on the screen will be displayed in layout view. You can pan and zoom to make

the map fit the page.

3. Click Export to save the map as a PDF file.

4. Type in the File name, navigate to the directory where you want to save the file, and click Save

in the Save as box. The file is automatically saved as a pdf.

At any time, if you have questions, feel free to refer to the help icons ( ) or the Plan My Land Operation

User Manual located in the Help section.